- Thursday, May 08, 2025
Those killed in the attack on Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah in Bahawalpur included ten members of the JeM chief’s extended family
By: India Weekly
HOURS after India carried out Operation Sindoor on nine terror targets in Pakistan, Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar acknowledged on Wednesday (7) that 10 members of his family and four close associates were killed in the missile attack on the outfit’s headquarters in Bahawalpur.
A statement attributed to Azhar said those killed in the attack on Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah at Bahawalpur in Punjab included the JeM chief’s elder sister and her husband, a nephew and his wife, another niece, and five children from his extended family.
The statement further mentioned that the attack also claimed the lives of one of Azhar’s close associates and his mother, along with two other close companions.
Bahawalpur became the hub of the Jaish after the release of Azhar in exchange for the hijacked passengers of IC-814 in 1999.
In May 2019, the United Nations designated Azhar a “global terrorist” after China lifted its hold on a proposal to blacklist the JeM chief, a decade after New Delhi approached the world body for the first time on the issue.
The elusive Azhar, who has not been seen in public since April 2019, is believed to be hiding in a “safe place” in Bahawalpur.
The targets of India’s missile strikes also included Lashkar-e-Taiba’s base in Muridke.
The strikes were carried out in response to the Pahalgam carnage in which terrorists killed 26 people, mostly tourists, in one of the worst attacks in Jammu and Kashmir’s history.
Indian envoy summoned
Pakistan on Wednesday (7) summoned the Indian Chargé d’Affaires and lodged a strong protest against the Indian strikes.
The army said that at least 26 people were killed and 46 injured in these strikes launched shortly after midnight on cities in Pakistan’s Punjab and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
“The Indian Chargé d’Affaires was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today to receive Pakistan’s strong protest over the unprovoked Indian strikes” at multiple locations across Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, Foreign Office said in a statement.
It said that these strikes resulted in the deaths and injuries of several civilians, including women and children.
“It was conveyed that India’s blatant act of aggression constitutes a clear violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty. Such actions are in contravention of the UN Charter, international law, and established norms governing inter-state relations,” FO said.
Pakistan also firmly rejected what it called “India’s baseless justifications for its hostile conduct.”
